Review
""There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country—they are a part of our daily lives, working hard to improve America. They are not so different from us. We are all immigrants or children of immigrants (if we look back to some point in our family's past) who are trying to find a place to belong, and we all deserve that chance to belong. In There Goes the Neighborhood, Ali Noorani opens our eyes to this reality and helps us understand that the debate on immigration is not a problem for us to fix but an opportunity for us to seize.” —José Andrés, chef/owner of Minibar by José Andrés and ThinkFoodGroup “Engaging…. Noorani does a masterful job of describing how communities have learned to value the contribution of immigrants and to resist demands to round up undocumented immigrants and instead seek a real-world solution to the problem.” —Chicago Sun-Times “An essential book to understand the fear, challenges, and opportunities on both sides of the immigration debate.... This book, in many ways, explains why Trump won the election and why an honest debate on immigration is urgent. Your neighborhood depends on it." --Jorge Ramos, senior news anchor, Noticiero Univision and America with Jorge Ramos“At a time when the divisions in American life have been hardening, Ali Noorani has produced a powerful portrait of a changing nation by carefully working to understand the perspective not only of those who agree with him but also of those who come to the issues surrounding what he rightly calls ‘America's identity crisis' with very different values and perspectives. In this inspired travelogue across some of the most contested ground in national life, Noorani has offered our political leadership a road map for how to shift our dialogue away from what divides us and toward the values all Americans hold in common.”—Ron Brownstein, senior editor, the Atlantic, and senior political analyst, CNN“Noorani goes beyond the rhetoric to examine all sides of the immigration debate. Now, more than ever, we must harness the resource of immigration to ensure that America continues to be the most innovative and entrepreneurial nation. Noorani shows how we can adapt to changing demographics for the good of the nation, without giving in to fear.” —Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution, and author of The Third Wave“Noorani has brought unlikely allies together in faith, law enforcement, and business communities to find common ground on the complex issue of immigration, helping neighborhoods adjust to, and even embrace, their changing identities and welcome newcomers eager to contribute to our nation's economy. This is must-reading for all Americans who want to understand where we go from here, and why we must continue to be a nation of immigrants to make America truly great.” —Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico, US ambassador to the United Nations, and US Secretary of Energy“During this period in which some of the latent, dark elements of our national character are once again coming to light, Ali Noorani's effort to appeal to our ‘better angels' in this book is an important step to help engage in a constructive conversation on the issue of immigration.”—Greg Zoeller, Indiana attorney general, 2009–2017“Thoughtful, inspiring, and urgent, There Goes the Neighborhood puts a human face on immigration and its challenges while presenting compelling, commonsense solutions. Noorani's precedent for bringing together business leaders, law enforcement officials, and the faith community serves as a prototype for a breakthrough, where leaders, policymakers, and citizens from across the political spectrum can find common ground toward pathways we know to be right. Our legacy as a nation depends on our collective action. Noorani shows the way.” —Stephan Bauman, former president and CEO of World Relief and coauthor of Seeking Refuge“Political paralysis has stymied commonsense reforms to our immigration system for more than a decade. Noorani brings to life the perspectives of law-enforcement, business, and faith leaders who view immigrants as vital community members who fuel our economy and enrich our culture. The courage and wisdom demonstrated by these leaders inspires us all.”—Laurene Powell Jobs, president, Emerson Collective“As America grapples with issues of identity, culture, and belonging, Noorani brings us a book that combines personal experience, data, and current events to tell a story of a country transformed. How we navigate this tumultuous time will be a testament to the deeply held American values of inclusion and integration. On the heels of a national election that brought to the forefront questions of what it means to be American in the twenty-first century, this is a captivating account of the challenges and promising practices across the country that give us hope for the future. This is not a book about immigration. It is a book about a country transformed by technology, globalization, and demographic shifts. This insightful look into how communities across America have responded gives us hope that we can move beyond ideology and divisiveness. There Goes the Neighborhood is a blueprint for moving forward.” —Monica Lozano, chairman and CEO, ImpreMedia (ret.)
About the Author
Ali Noorani is the Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy organization promoting the value of immigrants and immigration. Prior to joining the Forum, Noorani was Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and has served in leadership roles within public health and environmental organizations. In 2015, Noorani was named a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Noorani is a sought-after commentator, and has been interviewed by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Economist, the Associated Press, and by several other national, regional, and international media. He is also a frequent guest on a range of television and radio shows, including MSNBC, Lou Dobbs Tonight, The O'Reilly Factor, the Sean Hannity Show, Washington Journal, PBS Newshour, Fusion Magazine, NPR (the Diane Rehm Show, On Point, and Marketplace), and is an op-ed contributor to CNN.com, Fox News's Latino, among others. Noorani is a regular guest on local talk radio shows across the country.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface to the Paperback Edition:
Since the original publication of
There Goes the Neighborhood in 2017, President Trump’s “othering” of newcomers and refugees – to say nothing of his executive actions, legislative efforts and brutal rhetoric - has permeated the nation’s psyche to such an extent it has become an accepted norm. Quite frankly, President Trump’s vision of an American neighborhood has no immigrants.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
While darker forces have always lurked below the surface in our political life, three quarters (1) of Americans still say immigration is a “good thing.” They continue to believe that those who come seeking a better life ought to be able to stay, and contribute. Dairy farmers in Twin Falls, Idaho, law enforcement leaders in Storm Lake, Iowa, and pastors in Albertville, Alabama, still see immigrants and immigration as part and parcel of the American story.
Which is why I remain hopeful.
It’s true that one does not have to look closely to see that the president wants to do more than end illegal immigration; he wants to end immigration to the United States as we know it. From “shithole countries” to claims that immigrants are stealing jobs and taking services to abhorrent treatment of migrant children along the US-Mexico border, the conversation Trump has placed in front of the American public, if not the world, is steeped in hatred and nationalism.
We have been led to believe that those fleeing violence, persecution, and hopelessness do not deserve a helping hand, that what is given to you is what is taken from me. As a result, we are less curious about each other, less respectful of each other, and the natural cleavages and growing tribalism in our politics only compounds the challenge.
As Adam Serwer observed in
The Atlantic (2), “Once malice is embraced as a virtue, it is impossible to contain.” Our test, in the context of a president seeking to reshape American identity in his own image, is to avoid falling into this trap of malice being embraced as a virtue.
Therefore, how communities overcome prejudice and meet the challenge of American immigration is more important to our national character than ever before—because the challenge is only going to grow.
Technological advances will continue to transform industries, the nature of work, and the livelihoods of millions of American workers. Poverty, violence, and climate change will push more people to migrate at record numbers for generations to come, which will test our politics, our norms, and our role in the world. Our current policy makers, from both sides of the aisle, are, for different reasons, unwilling to address these challenges. Legislative gridlock makes for a convenient relief valve that allows one side to blame the other—while compromise remains elusive.
Left in the lurch is what the research and advocacy organization More in Common identified as the “exhausted majority” in their comprehensive 2018 study of the American public. This exhausted majority is a population, “fed up by America’s polarization. They know we have more in common than that which divides us: our belief in freedom, equality, and the pursuit of the American dream. They share a deep sense of gratitude that they are citizens of the United States. They want to move past our differences.”
That underscores what I discovered traveling the country in recent years: Between the deeply polarized wings of the American public lies the potential to reclaim the American story.
The problem is that, when it comes to immigration, it is easier for us to look to our screens instead of our scripture, to
Fox & Friends instead of our friends and family, to walls instead of bridges.
So, looking back and peering forward, the pastors, police chiefs and business owners in
There Goes the Neighborhood are more than messengers of a different conversation. Rather, they are acting in heroic ways to challenge their own assumptions, help their communities understand a changing America, and, ultimately, create a nation that is just and good.
And, since publication, the heroes continue to emerge—helping us rediscover our sense of pride in the American story.
Dr. Eric Costanzo, senior pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church, is one example.
Eric and his son, Noah, joined me for an immigration meeting in New York City during the fall of 2018. Their post-event plans to tour the Big Apple were cut short by a bomb scare that trapped them in a holding area outside the CNN offices. The Tulsa Fox News affiliate heard about their ordeal and sat down with Eric and Noah for a news segment (3).
In describing their harrowing experience, Eric shared that the immigration event they had left before getting caught up in the bomb scare was a setting where “[w]e were just discussing some of the difficult topics around immigrant and refugee issues.”
Expanding on this theme, eleven-year old Noah told the reporter, “At our immigration meeting, they would sit down and listen to you; but the complete opposite happened with this person [responsible for the bomb scare].”
“Right now that hateful volatile careless language … it’s happening at every level,” said Eric. “I do know that this kind of thing raises my personal awareness to choose very wisely what I say and how I say it.”
Or, take the example of Tess Clark, a conservative evangelical woman in suburban Dallas. In an October 2018 interview with the
New York Times (4), Tess “began to weep as she recalled visiting a migrant woman detained and separated from her daughter at the border.” Tess confessed “that she was ‘mortified’ at how she used to vote, because she had only considered abortion policy. ‘We’ve been asleep. Now, we’ve woke up.’”
Tess, Noah, and Eric remind us that we have a distinct calling for this extraordinary chapter in our American story.
They, like the individuals you will meet in
There Goes the Neighborhood, are not working to put malice back into constraints. Rather, they seek to transform it. With true virtues: compassion, empathy, and, most of all, courage.
And, if they are successful, if we are successful, the United States will remain a nation of laws and a nation of grace for generations to come.
---------------
1. Megan Brenan, “Record-High 75% of Americans Say Immigration Is Good Thing,”
Gallup, June 21, 2018. https://news.gallup.com/poll/235793/record-high-americans-say-immigration-good-thing.aspx (accessed November 30, 2018).
2. Adam Serwer, “The Cruelty is the Point,” The Atlantic, October 3, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/ (accessed November 29, 2018).
3. Lynn Casey, “VIDEO: Two Oklahomans share story about being in New York during bomb scare,” Fox23 News. https://www.fox23.com/video?videoId=860655716&videoVersion=1.0 (accessed November 29, 2018).
4. Elizabeth Dias, “Beto O’Rourke May Benefit from an Unlikely Support Group: White Evangelical Women,” New York Times, October 9, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/us/politics/texas-beto-orourke-evangelicals-women.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage (accessed November 29, 2018).
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